Kabul – January 30, 2026: Afghanistan Future Stars have put on a remarkable all-round performance to beat the Ireland U19s and advance to the Semi-Finals of the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2026.
Earlier in the morning,
Afghanistan U19s captain, Mahboob Khan, won the toss and decided that
Afghanistan U19s will bat first. Afghanistan lost Khalid Ahmadzai (1) and Osman
Sadaat (14) early. Still, Faisal Khan Shinozada (163) first shared a 75-run stand for
the 3rd wicket with Uzairullah Khan Niazi (26) and then an 188-run
stand with the skipper, Mahboob Khan (89), for the fourth wicket to power
Afghanistan U19s’ total to 315/7 runs in the first inning.
Faisal Khan Shinozada became the
second Afghan batter to score 150 runs in a U19 World Cup match, following
Karim Janat's 156 runs against Fiji U19 in 2016. With 163 runs against the
Ireland U19s today, he also now holds the record for the highest score in a U19
World Cup game for Afghanistan!
In the second inning, Afghanistan
bowlers put on an even better bowling effort as they rushed through the
Irish batting order and bundled them out for 124 runs to register a 191-run victory
and advance to the Semi-Final stage of the tournament.
Abdul Aziz Khan (3/21) and Aqil
Khan Obaid (3/36) shared 6 wickets among them, whereas Nasratullah Nooristani
(1/16) and Rohullah Arab (1/32) picked up a wicket each to contribute to Afghanistan’s
memorable victory.
Faisal Khan Shinorzada (163) put
on a memorable performance to not only bag the Player of the Match award, but
to power Afghanistan to their third semi-final of the ICC Men's U19 World Cup,
which will be played on Wednesday, February 4, with their opponent team to be confirmed
on Sunday, following the Pakistan and India game.